Conor McGregor and Collison brothers among ten Irish included in Forbes list
The mixed martial arts champion was listed in the “social stars” category, alongside actors such as Dev Patel and Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner; musicians such as Emeli Sandé, James Bay, and The 1975; and soccer players Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale.
In total, 10 Irish people were singled out in the second annual 30 Under 30 Europe list, which features 300 young European innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders who are under 30 years of age and who are creating the future in 10 sectors: The arts, entertainment, finance, industry, media, policy, retail and e-commerce, science and healthcare, social entrepreneurship, and technology.
John and Patrick Collison, from Limerick, are co-founders of Stripe and were included in the all-star alumni section. The company was valued at €4.5bn during a fundraising round in 2015 and backers include Paypal founders Elon Musk and Peter Thiel.
Iseult Ward, who founded the mobile and web platform FoodCloud, that links businesses with surplus foods to local charities who could use such leftovers, was nominated in two categories. She was in the 30 under 30 as a “social entrepreneur” and in the “dorm room founders” list. Ward was last year named one of Time Magazine’s Next Generation Leaders. She also won the Marie Claire UK Future Shapers Award and funding from the Virgin Media Business VOOM 2016 Competition.
Also included in the list is venture capitalist Paul Morrissey, vice president of Battery Ventures. He previously worked at the Goldman Sachs investment banking division and has up to 299 investments, including Marketo and Sprinklr, which was valued at $1.8bn last year. Morrissey was responsible for investing $120m in Gainsight, Intacct, Nitro, PrimeRevenue and WebPT.
In the industry sphere, Patrick Carton, a designer with McLaren, was nominated for his work in creating “new and innovative automative products”. Last year, he received the Pilkington Vehicle Design Award for a self-sustainable car that can generate electricity from rain, wind, and sunlight.
Niall Mimnagh, from Longford, is also one of the 30 under 30 in the industry sector. He’s the CEO of Mimergy, a company which reverts tyres back into their raw materials. Mr Mimnagh started out as a fitter in the oil and gas industry and went on to qualify as an engineer. It was a love of motorsport and time spent racing cars which made him aware of the waste tyre disposal problem.
According to Forbes: “Over 1 billion waste tires are generated globally every year. Ireland, for example, exports over 50% of them to be incinerated abroad. So Mimergy recycles the tires into precious resources, such as fuel and ther high value chemicals.”
Aged just 22, Sam Blanckensee, national development officer of TENI (the Transgender Equality Network Ireland) was also praised for his role in getting gender recognition legislation passed in this country. “An outspoken voice for the trans community across Irish media and politics, Blanckensee helped get legislation passed…. that let people self-declare their gender and receive new birth certificates.”
PhD candidate Colin Keogh was also singled out for his passion around bringing groundbreaking technology to the world’s poorest people. “Keogh has long been interested in using low-cost disruptive technologies to help improve the world. He founded The Rapid Foundation to put technology such as 3D printers and low-cost electronics in the hands of people who need it most in developing countries,” said Forbes.
In the arts category, Mark Moriarty of the Culinary Counter was singled out. Moriarty was crowned the 2015 San Pellegrino UK & Ireland Young Chef of the Year and the San Pellegrino World Young Chef of the Year. Along with partner Ciaran Sweeney, Culinary Counter brings his pop-up fusion of food and art to “unfamiliar environments... tailoring menus for worldrenowned guest lists”. Diners get to watch Sweeney and Moriarty cook, before sitting to eat their innovative dishes.
